acidrain's US Immigration Timeline

Petitioner's Name: Sonny Beneficiary's Name: Cher VJ Member: acidrain Country: Canada Last Updated: 2022-01-28 Add Comment to Timeline Register or log in to follow this timeline

Immigration Checklist for Sonny & Cher:

USCIS DCF I-130 Petition:       Dept of State IR-1/CR-1 Visa:     USCIS I-751 Petition:   USCIS N-400 Petition:

IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Date Service Center : Nebraska Service Center Transferred? No Consulate : Montreal, Canada Marriage (if applicable): 2008-02-23 I-130 Sent : 2017-02-06 I-130 NOA1 : 2017-02-08 I-130 RFE : I-130 RFE Sent : I-130 Approved : 2017-11-21 NVC Received : 2017-12-06 Received DS-261 / AOS Bill : Pay AOS Bill : 2017-12-12 Receive I-864 Package : Send AOS Package : 2017-12-13 Submit DS-261 : Receive IV Bill : Pay IV Bill : 2017-12-12 Send IV Package : 2017-12-15 Receive Instruction and Interview appointment letter : 2018-01-18 Case Completed at NVC : 2017-12-18 NVC Left : Consulate Received : Packet 3 Received : Packet 3 Sent : Packet 4 Received : Interview Date : 2018-02-13 Interview Result : Approved Second Interview (If Required): Second Interview Result: Visa Received : 2018-03-02 US Entry : 2018-03-09 Comments : Interview: my son's interview was booked for Feb 13 - 7:30am, mine 8:30am. We waited outside with a half dozen people or so after 7am. It was bitterly cold with temps around -20 with wind chill. My son and other small child started to really suffer. I was so happy the security guards came out around 7:15am to let the kids in. They were kind that way. As a result I unintentionally got moved to the front of the line and was #2 going in. I checked in my phone and was given a "coupon" to pick up after. Me, my son, the other father, his daughter and another person all went up the elevator to the 19th floor. We were the first ones to arrive. The consulate has an incredible view. There is a small play area for children and a couple of vending machines along with washrooms. I waited no more than a few minutes before my name was called to window #1. I submitted my son and my documents despite the difference in appointment times. I offered the tax transcript to which she took and she also took a copy of last years tax returns. The document submission was very straight forward and there was no surprises. I sat back down and waited no more than 10 minutes before I got called to window #8. A very genuine interviewer who was amazing went through everything. I explained what my spouse does for a living and how we met. In both interviews I went through how my spouse had never before lived as an adult in the US. They wanted to make sure the IR2 was the right visa for my son and not birth abroad. I went through my border denial and she assured me that is not grounds for being denied an immigrant visa. I felt very at ease with the interviewer and at the end she said both my visa and my son's was approved! We were in and out within 45 minutes which I was surprised over. I really appreciated the security guards attention to the needs of small children. Everyone was nice and professional. I came armed with tons of documents in case anything was asked. They look through everything submitted prior at the NVC so if you side load it helps. She said there is no more carrying documents to the POE as it's done electronically. I should also expect to receive our passports with the visa stamp within a week. Update: My son's passport was sent right away within 3 days. I was placed into AP (administrative processing) until Feb 23. I have no idea why and it was very stressful. Then they sent the package Xpresspot. It was supposed to arrive Feb 28. The package was lost and was not being scanned. I opened an investigation through Canada Post. It turned up March 2 and I went to pick it up. It was the most stressful part of this process not knowing whether my Passport and immigrant Visa were lost/stolen. I am grateful it showed up just in time for our move. Processing Estimates/Stats : Your I-130 was approved in 286 days from your NOA1 date. Your interview took 370 days from your I-130 NOA1 date.

Port of Entry Review Event Date Port of Entry : CDN-USA Border POE Date : 2018-03-09 Got EAD Stamp : Biometrics Taken : Harassment Level : 0 Comments : The smoothest part of the process. It took 25 minutes from start to finish. The agent looked over my manifest and briefly took a look inside our U-Haul. It was strange to go through the same land crossing I was denied 13 months earlier. It was a much different experience to have our immigration visas in hand.

Citizenship Event Date Service Center : Online CIS Office : Las Vegas NV Date Filed : 2020-12-12 NOA Date : 2020-12-12 Bio. Appt. : 2021-06-29 Interview Date : 2022-01-26 Approved : Yes Oath Ceremony : 2022-02-11 Comments :

Member Reviews:

Consulate Review: Montreal, Canada Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Event Description Review Date : February 13, 2018 Embassy Review : My son's interview was booked for 7:30am, mine 8:30am. We waited outside with a half dozen people or so after 7am. It was bitterly cold with temps around -20 with wind chill. My son and other small child started to really suffer. I was so happy the security guards came out around 7:15am to let the kids in. They were kind that way. As a result I unintentionally got moved to the front of the line and was #2 going in. I checked in my phone and was given a "coupon" to pick up after. Me, my son, the other father, his daughter and another person all went up the elevator to the 19th floor. We were the first ones to arrive. The consulate has an incredible view. There is a small play area for children and a couple of vending machines along with washrooms. I waited no more than a few minutes before my name was called to window #1. I submitted my son and my documents despite the difference in appointment times. I offered the tax transcript to which she took and she also took a copy of last years tax returns. The document submission was very straight forward and there was no surprises. I sat back down and waited no more than 10 minutes before I got called to window #8. A very genuine interviewer who was amazing went through everything. I explained what my spouse does for a living and how we met. In both interviews I went through how my spouse had never before lived as an adult in the US. They wanted to make sure the IR2 was the right visa for my son and not birth abroad. I went through my border denial and she assured me that is not grounds for being denied an immigrant visa. I felt very at ease with the interviewer and at the end she said both my visa and my son's was approved! We were in and out within 45 minutes which I was surprised over. I really appreciated the security guards attention to the needs of small children. Everyone was nice and professional. I came armed with tons of documents in case anything was asked. They look through everything submitted prior at the NVC so if you side load it helps. She said there is no more carrying documents to the POE as it's done electronically. I should also expect to receive our passports with the visa stamp within a week. Rating : Very Good

Timeline Comments: None yet, be the first!



*Notice about estimates: The estimates are based off averages of other members recent experiences
(documented in their timelines) for the same benefit/petition/application at the same filing location.
Individual results may vary as every case is not always 'average'. Past performance does not necessarily
predict future results. The 'as early as date' may change over time based on current reported processing
times from members. There have historically been cases where a benefit/petition/application processing
briefly slows down or stops and this can not be predicted. Use these dates as reference only and do not
rely on them for planning. As always you should check the USCIS processing times to see if your application
is past due.

** Not all cases are transfered

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